Walk Sixteen – Bluebells

No map today because while the bluebells are looking so gorgeous in Langley Wood I’m tempted to walk the same walk every day. The trees in this wood are predominantly hornbeam, which have a lovely flowing shape rather like beech. In my usual loquacious way (a side effect of isolated self-employment) I once got chatting to a wood cutter working in the wood who told me that hornbeam wood is very dense and machine cogs were often made of it because it is so strong. The other benefit is that if a tooth of a wooden cog breaks, the machine is only out of action for the time it takes for a carpenter to repair it. Hornbeam also makes excellent barbecue charcoal. Now endeth your nature lesson for today.